180.     EVANS, L[emuel] D[ale]. Speech of Hon. L.D. Evans. On the Condition of Texas, and the Formation of New States. Delivered in the Constitutional Convention of Texas, on the 6th of January, 1869 [caption title]. N.p., n.d. [Austin? 1869?]. 30 pp. 8vo (23 x 14 cm), stitched, as issued. Exceptionally fine.

     First edition of a Reconstruction judge’s proposed dismemberment of Texas into five states. Sabin 23174n. Winkler 2070. Evans (see Handbook of Texas Online) came to Texas in 1843 and was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1845 on the Know-Nothing ticket. He opposed the secession of Texas and was an exiled Unionist during the Civil War. He left Texas and went straight to Washington to consult with William Seward on how to invade and isolate Texas so that she could not effectively contribute to the Confederate war effort. His work as an undercover agent against Texas during the war and his Reconstruction positions as internal revenue collector and chief justice of the Supreme Court (the much-ridiculed Semicolon Court) did not contribute to his popularity in Texas. In the present work he advocates dividing Texas into five separate states and discusses the feasibility of establishing colonies for Blacks outside the U.S. or setting aside part of the country for Blacks. At the end he tacks on an incoherent little misogynist diatribe citing authorities such as Aristotle and the Bible: “Remarks of Hon. L.D. Evans on the Resolution…to Extend Suffrage to Women.”

($150-300)

Auction 22 Abstracts